A tale of three villages

Jamshoro District of the Sindh province of Pakistan, with a total population of 993,142 (2019 Census), is administratively subdivided into four Tehsils: Kotri, Manjhand, Sehwan Sharif and Thana Bulla Khan Tehsils. On the Jamshoro-Sehwan road, a katcha road on the left leads to three villages – Garivari, Sono Rind, and Aamri, where poverty has made a permanent abode. Despite these troubles, the women of these villages have been steadily making every effort to rise above their hardships.

Under the Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support Programme (SUCCESS), the women from these villages are receiving support that helps them persevere through tough times. The programme is based on the Rural Support Programmes’ (RSPs) social mobilisation approach to Community Driven Development (CDD). Social Mobilisation centres around the belief that poor people have an innate potential to help themselves if provided with technical and financial support. The RSPs under the SUCCESS Programme provide social guidance, technical and financial assistance to the rural poor in Sindh. The six-year long (2015-2021) programme is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN), National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO) and Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP) in eight districts of Sindh, namely: Kambar Shahdadkot, Larkana, Dadu, Jamshoro, Matiari, Sujawal, Tando Allahyar and Tando Muhammad Khan.

“There are five components of the SUCCESS that includes a grant to the community used as micro-loans to poor household; an income generating grant to the poorest household that can’t take or pay back loans; micro health insurance to cover for health shocks; vocational training to help poor households start employment or self-employment; and grants for building small community-level infrastructures for water, sanitation and link roads. Started in 2016, the project did a baseline survey for poverty of all the villages which revealed that 55 per cent of households were living in abject poverty. To combat that, we later made Community organisations (COs), Village organisations (VOs), and LSOs (Local Support Organisations), headed and run by local women as in-charges and presidents,” explains Nasreen Khan, District Manager, TRDP.

In the village Garivari, Peesh-making – Sindhi word for twine (baan in Urdu) – is the main source of earning. It is used to weave traditional bedsteads, common furniture in the rural setting. Peesh-making has many arduous steps right from soaking date palm leaves stacks in water for days, then the beating, forceful twisting with hands, which can cause scratches due to the sharp-edged leaves. These leaves are then soaked again in mud water, and then the prepared twine is spread in the sun by running it on a large wheel to further smoothen the sharp spikes. “Earlier, we used to take a loan from the landlord make peesh. He would pay us only Rs 500 and would keep the profit after selling our product on a considerably high price,” shares Zainab, a local who is now an in-charge of a village organisation. “With a loan of Rs 20,000 - 30,000 under Community Investment Fund (CIF), we now make our own peesh and sell it at the market for Rs 1,200. A group of four people makes one peesh for one bedstead in a day, so, we save Rs 600 on each set of twine, after deducting expenses. We can also pay back the loan in easy instalments,” adds Zainab.

The katcha road outside Garivari leads to Village Aamri. With an approximate population of 8000 residing in 1500 households, the village is home to a pre-Harappan civilisation which flourished along River Aamri and the Aamri fort stands as a living symbol to that civilisation.

“Having 18 Village Organisations in the UC, revolving loans worth Rs 10 million under CIF were dispersed among people of the village. The poorest households were given Rs 20,000 as income generating grants here as well,” says Shamshad, President of LSO Manzil.

“After a session on saving by Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP), the women of 22 community and village organisations through their own earning saved Rs 1.5 lac and bought a buffalo, and now they sell 5 kg milk daily for Rs 500,” expresses Nasreen, one of the members of the Community organisation. With only occasional labour work available to men, 242 people of the village were given loans for micro-businesses. “We also want to train boys and girls on small businesses. Many of us girls are receiving tailoring training and we stitch a suit for Rs 200-400,” exclaims Haseena, a local resident.

The village Sono Rind is a10-minute drive from Aamri village. The villagers get drinking water from the four hand pumps installed by TRDP and it has water tested fit for drinking. Due to the recent torrential rains, a pond developed and now the women wash clothes and do dishes there. Other than that, the village doesn’t have electricity, and gas. They use cow dung and firewood as fuel. Hoor Bano, a local woman, with a loan of Rs 25,000 and adding her own savings of Rs 15,000, purchased a small grind mill to grind wheat to make flour. “I grind 3 mounds of wheat daily and charge Rs 100 per kilogram of wheat flour, which makes my wage Rs 300 per day,” enthuses Hoor Bano. She has also opened a small tuck shop to supplement her husband’s income who was earning only Rs 100 - 200 per day from a vegetable cart. Now, the shop generates an extra Rs 100/day. Moreover, she purchased a goat worth Rs 1,500 from her savings. “It is a pride for a village woman to own cattle. I have seven children, and with my eldest one in the 9th grade, I want to educate all my children,” she adds.

In Tehsil Manjhand, there are seven local support organisations, 82 village organisations and 749 community organisations, all run by women. After the trainings, these organisations make a Village Development Plan (VDP). “A three-day Leadership Management and Skill Training was also conducted to educate the village organisers on how to make micro-finance plans. Later, they brought attention to make CNICs,” informs Nasreen. Furthermore, these locals are entrusted to carry out schemes that worth up to Rs 1 million. Through Community Investment fund (CIF), 52 women received payable loans worth Rs 20-30,000, while 11 poorest households were given Rs 20,000 grants to start micro-business.

Childbirth is a major procedure with a lot at stake, for that the villagers prefer to have the baby at home with the help of a midwife. “I wash hands, use clean cloth for my cases and give herbal medicines to the patient,” informs 70-year-old Ubhori Da’i, who is locally trained. According to Ubhori Da’i not a single patient of hers has died in labour, “I never prolong labour and immediately ask the family to shift the patient at the nearby private Bakhtawar Hospital.”

In Jamshoro, these women can be treated for a health insurance of Rs 25,000, given under SUCCESS programme. Nasreen Khan informs that health insurance is free of cost. The nearby 25-bed Bakhtawar Hospital (one of the panel hospitals) provides hospitalisation and surgery facilities to these women. “We do C-Section only if a woman has undergone prolonged labour. Monthly 30-40 C-Sections are conducted while half of them are normal deliveries referred by da’is. In case of complications, the patients are sent to Jamshoro Hospital,” explains Dr Ashraf Jatoi, owner of Bakhtawar Hospital.

Although, the patriarchal mindsets prevail in these communities and there is a lot of stress on women to provide ‘enough sons’. A woman would bear four to 10 children to ensure just that. To tackle this issue, the programme also focuses having sessions relating to family planning and contraceptives, which are conducted by the trained locals. Akhtari is one local woman who recently had a contraceptive implant in her arm to give a gap for five years.

“Early marriage and the frequent pregnancies are the main issue here. After awareness sessions on women’s health, now mothers don’t marry off their daughters so early. We also stopped early marriage of a girl in the village,” says Naushaba, a local of Aamri.

The programme has a key focus on education. “The only teacher in the local school was posted here but she lived in Manjhand, so she wouldn’t come to school. Women started sending their children to a far away madressah, but it was risky. When they approached the DC, they opened the local primary school. Now, women are planning to lodge a protest in front of EDO office to arrange regular teachers for schools. In many villages, girls now go to school as the teacher has started coming in due to pressure from the locals,” tells Nasereen Khan. “It was these leaders who also reopened the basic health unit which was shut down. This pressure group is persistent and makes the government respond to their demands.”

There are three schools, one primary, one secondary and the third one is adopted by an NGO in the area. “We convinced mothers on the importance of education and now 13 girls and 15 boys from Aamri village go to school and college in Sun City as we have arranged a bus for them,” says Amina Soomro, manager, local support organisations and also a member of Joint Development Committee (JDC) of the Tehsil Manjhand. “Now people come to us to resolve their issues instead of going to UC chairman etc. Even school teachers inform us about their casual absence because they know we are vigilant,” says Naushaba.

The development of all aspects within rural communities is vital for the effective development of the country. These include: education, employment opportunities, infrastructure, housing, civic amenities and the environmental conditions. Programmes like SUCCESS are playing an important role in creating awareness and making a difference in rural areas.